Reference management: Changing from RefWorks to another tool

You cannot export folders from RefWorks. You have two options:

Export the references for each folder and import them into the new program. This is the easiest option when you want to continue using folders as you are used to in RefWorks.

Or:

You can give all references in a folder as specific keyword (tag) and export them. This is the easiest option when you want to start afresh in the new program with creating and organising folders, but want to contain the information about the folders.

1. Go to the folder you want to add a keyword to.
2. Go via Tools to Bulk edit.
3. At Add select: to a selected field for tags
4.  Enter the tag you want to add to all references. Select the option Append to existing data. Tip: choose a unique tag that you can easily retrace, for instance folder [name of folder].
5.  Please note that you have selected Folder XXX and not All references.
6. Repeat this step for each folder.

To all references with a PDF in RefWorks you can add a keyword. After you have exported the references to another program, you will see in that program for which titles you can still take out a PDF from RefWorks. You go through this process in two parts.

Searching for files and putting them in a folder

1. Go to advanced search and search for Attachment (PDF) = True
   
2. Select all found references and select Assign. Here you can create a new folder, for instance has_PDF. The references with an attachment will be copied to this folder, they also remain in the folder where they were saved earlier (if applicable.)

Give all files in a folder a keyword

1. Go to the folder you have just created and at the top select under Tools: Bulk Edit
2. At Add to a selected field choose tags
3. Fill in the tag you want to add to all references, for instance has_pdf. Select the option Append to existing data. 
4. Be aware that you have selected (for instance) Folder has_pdf and not All references.
5. Now that all references have this new keyword you may remove the newly created folder. The references in that folder remain, including the new keyword.

Migrating references to another reference management tool is done by exporting them from RefWorks and importing them into the new program. You do so with a document in the so-called RIS format. At this step information may disappear because the field in question in the RIS document is not recognised by the new program.

 In the case of RefWorks it concerns the following field codes:

• ID: the unique identification number assigned by RefWorks
• U1 t/m U7: the custom labels you can create in RefWorks for your own use.

You can keep the information in these fields by moving them to the Note field (N1). You do this by editing the RIS export from RefWorks before importing them in the new program.

1. Export the references from RefWorks in the RIS format.
2.  Open the file with a text editor (for instance Notepad).
3. Use replace to replace the field codes in question. The safest way is to copy an example entry from the file.
4.  Save the file and import it into the new program. Check if the information has been included.

Download all PDFs at once

Refworks offers the possibility to download all the PDFs you have saved in one go. You can do this via Share > export attachments.

While it lets you save all PDFs to your computer at once, this doesn't mean you can easily link them to references in your new program. Whether you are able to find the correct PDF depends on the PDF you had saved in Refworks. What was the file name? Is the PDF saved as text or image? In any case, this is a way to secure all your PDFs for future use.

Manually transferring PDFs

It is not possible to migrate attachments (PDFs of publications) automatically to another program. This can only be done manually. If possible, in your new program for reference management you use the function for automatically searching for PDFs. All you have to do next is to migrate the PDFs you have not found manually from RefWorks.

The steps below assume that you:

• Have added tags to references with an attachment (see adding tags to references with an attachment)
• Optional: have exported RefWork IDs from RefWorks and have imported them into a new program (see Exporting references and changing labels in an export file)

You go through the following steps:

In your new program (see the explanation there):

1. Use the function in the new reference management program to automatically search for PDFs
2. In the  new program search for all references WITHOUT attachments, but do contain the keyword you have added to references with attachments
3. Search for each of these references the attachment in RefWorks

In RefWorks and your new program

1. search the reference of which you want to migrate the attachment, for instance by searching by title and author. It is not possible to migrate attachments (PDFs of publications) automatically to another program. This can only be done manually. If possible you use the function for automatically searching for PDFs in your new program. All you need to do afterwards is manually migrating the PDFs you have not found from RefWorks.
   
2. If needed, use the RefWorks ID to check if the reference in RefWorks and in your new tool are really the same
3. Save the attachment in your computer.
   
   
4. Go back to your new program en import the attachment you have just saved.

RefWorks allows you to include references in your text or in footnotes. These are linked to your RefWorks account. If you switch to another reference tool, you will have to break that link with RefWorks and re-insert all literature references for the documents you are still working on from your new reference management program.

If you switch to EndNote, you don't have to do everything manually. See the explanation for EndNote below.

Zotero, Mendeley and other programs

Remove the field codes from your Word document. The literature references remain in your document but are no longer linked to your RefWorks account.

1. To be sure, make a copy of your Word document before proceeding.
2. Select the full text of your Word document (Ctrl+a)
3. Right-click on the selected text and choose Remove Content Control.

Install the Word add-in of your new reference management program. More information about this can be found in the LibGuide for that program.

Replace all literature references one by one. Use the new program to insert the reference into the document and then remove the original reference from RefWorks.

Tip: You can adjust the display of your literature references in RefWorks to make them easier to find. For example, by turning them into literature references between curly brackets ({...}). To do so, follow the steps in this explanation.

EndNote

If you follow the steps below, EndNote will recognize the literature references in your Word document and suggest one or more titles from your EndNote library for each literature reference. You have to confirm EndNote's suggestions one by one. Literature references that EndNote does not recognize will still have to be changed manually. So this is a semi-automatic process, it can save you a lot of time and effort but still requires attention and concentration!

1. Make sure you have the RefWorks Citation Manager installed. See this explanation. The following steps do not work if you are still using the old Write-n-Cite add-in.
2. Make sure you've already transferred your credentials from RefWorks to EndNote and your EndNote in Word (Cite While You Write) installed. More information can be found in theLibguide over EndNote.
3. Follow these instructions, but keep the following points in mind:
   1. To be sure, make a copy of your Word document before proceeding.
   2. When you change the citation style in steps 3-5, also change the number of authors that are displayed, for example to 10. Otherwise, you will get literature references with only the 1st author (John Doe et.al.) that are not recognized by EndNote.

Keywords is a field (KW) in the standardized ris format used by reference managers. The field is being used to store keywords and enable the transfer of keywords from one reference manager to the other. 

Refworks uses the term tag as a synonym for keywords. Tags are displayed in the full view of the title (following the abstract) and can be searched using the advanced search (for instance: show all references with keyword X). They are also stored in the RIS file when you move your library to another reference manager.

If you make extensive use of keywords in RefWorks, Zotero will offer you a similar experience. EndNote also supports the use of keywords, however these are not displayed as prominently as in RefWorks and Zotero. Mendeley lacks good support for keywords and is therefore not recommended if you make extensive use of keywords.

Be aware that reference managers also use tags, but this is not always the same as a keyword. The ambiguous use of terminology can be confusing when moving from one reference manager to another.

Zotero
Tags is a synonym for keywords. They are displayed in a separate tab (info/notes/tags/related) and can be searched using the advanced search (for instance: show all references with keyword X).

EndNote
Tags are different from keywords. Tags are labels that can be customised, to which you can attribute colours. These are displayed and searchable in EndNote. However, tags cannot be exported. This means  that tags aren’t stored in RIS files when you move your library to another reference manager.
Keywords are also available in EndNote. You can edit keywords and search for them. These keywords can be exported. Be aware that these keywords are not displayed in a default view in EndNote, making them not as visible as in RefWorks.

Mendeley
Tags are different from keywords. Tags are customizable labels. These are displayed and searchable in Mendeley. However, tags cannot be exported. This means that tags aren’t stored in RIS files when you move your library to another reference manager.
Keywords are not available in Mendeley, meaning you can’t edit keywords or search for them. However, Mendeley does import keywords from other reference managers and also includes them in an export. This  means that keywords aren’t lost, just not editable/usable.